Articles: respiratory-distress-syndrome.
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Pulmonary surfactant is an important chemical component of the lung. It decreases surface tension in the alveolar cells to help stabilize the alveoli, and it may help prevent pulmonary edema. Currently, naturally and synthetically derived surfactants are being used to treat neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, a leading cause of death in premature infants. ⋯ Surfactant is administered by endotracheal tube, and the recommended dose is 5 mg per kg. Three doses, given 12 hours apart, is the recommended regimen for prophylactic therapy. Rescue therapy consists of one dose of surfactant given at the onset of respiratory distress and another dose given 12 hours later.
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · Jul 1992
Distinguishing between infection, rejection, and the adult respiratory distress syndrome after human lung transplantation.
The adult respiratory distress syndrome, bacterial pneumonia, cytomegalovirus pneumonitis, acute rejection, or a combination thereof were the primary causes of radiographic infiltrates or gas exchange abnormalities that occurred early after lung transplantation. The time of occurrence after transplantation, standard measures of clinical assessment as for nontransplant patients (i.e., vital signs, weight, white blood cell count, sputum, and cultures, etc.), bronchoalveolar lavage, and transbronchial lung biopsy were the primary tools used to analyze these situations. ⋯ Transbronchial lung biopsy was necessary to detect acute rejection and cytomegalovirus pneumonitis. Thus the cause of an early radiographic infiltrate or impairment of gas exchange was almost always reliably determined by using standard tools of clinical assessment, knowledge of the usual temporal sequence of the complications, and judicious use of bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial lung biopsy.
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Oral Surg. Oral Med. Oral Pathol. · Jul 1992
Case ReportsMediastinitis caused by odontogenic infection associated with adult respiratory distress syndrome.
A case of descending mediastinitis resulting from dental infection and complicated by adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is reported. The patient had a long history of heavy drinking. ⋯ The cause of ARDS appeared to be aspiration pneumonia. It is extremely rare for oral and maxillofacial surgeons to encounter a patient with ARDS.
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J Am Osteopath Assoc · Jul 1992
ReviewAdult respiratory distress syndrome: a review for the clinician.
Adult respiratory distress syndrome is a common respiratory problem with a wide array of precipitating causes and an overall mortality rate of more than 50%. Signs on physical examination tend to be nonspecific as do laboratory findings associated with the syndrome. ⋯ Therapy is primarily supportive and centers around the use of mechanical ventilator support. The authors discuss the pathogenesis and management of this syndrome together with some of the newer approaches to mechanical ventilation.
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Several alternatives to conventional ventilation in acute lung injury are now available and have been investigated to a varying degree. The assessment of all such techniques is limited by difficulties in designing proper comparative studies and by the time needed to recruit a large number of appropriate patients with acute lung injury. ⋯ The results of several large prospective comparative studies are eagerly awaited. Meanwhile we may reasonably suggest that improvements in respiratory support, together with advances in microbiological and pharmacological treatment, have the potential for improving the persistently disappointing survival rate in acute lung injury.